


birds

by curiositas



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Song: Birds (Thomas Sanders feat Terrence Williams)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26044051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiositas/pseuds/curiositas
Summary: Finch joins Specs for a bit of bird watching on a fine Saturday afternoon.
Relationships: Finch & Specs
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	birds

**Author's Note:**

> The weather was nice today and I was listening to this song, and my mind just clicked that it would be perfect for Specs and Finch.
> 
> I've been writing for four years and this is the first time I've ever put any of my stuff out there on the Internet lol. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

Specs never got out all that much. Most of the time, he would be busy with schoolwork, burying himself in papers and books, helping his friends study, and finally collapsing on his bed at some ungodly hour after all the caffeine and energy had left his body. On the rare occasion he wasn’t confined to the four walls of his apartment, although he loved getting a drink with friends for a break, his favorite thing to do was in the park.

It was a Saturday then. He sat under the emerald umbrella trees, gazing up at the green roof above him. He peered through the binoculars, scanning the leaves and the branches and the bark, and his eyes lit up when he spotted a hooded warbler perched nearby. Somewhere, he could hear blue jays excitedly babbling to every other bird in the park. Every so often, a gentle gust of wind would make the trees and the grass dance. Surrounded by the white noise of his little safe haven, Specs contentedly sighed and leaned back in his foldable chair.

“Hey, Specs! Didn’t expect to see you here!”

He jolted awake.

He knew who that voice belonged to even before he saw them approaching.

“Hey, Finch!” replied Specs, standing up to greet him. “What’re you doing here?”

“Just got back from the library, studied with Davey and the fellas,” said Finch, gesturing to the textbooks in his hands.

“How was it?”

Finch groaned. “I feel like everything got in through one ear and slipped out the other.”

Specs laughed. “Well, looks like you’re gonna have to wear earplugs for the finals.”

“How ‘bout you? What’re you doing here? You studied for finals yet?” Finch asked as he sat in the grass beside him.

“I’m a few subjects behind, but I’ll get back to it later. And I’m, uh, bird watching.”

“Really? What are you looking for?”

“Birds.”

“I know that, nitwit,” Finch said, slapping Specs across the arm, who laughed. “What birds in particular?”

Specs shrugged. “I dunno, whatever comes my way, I guess. Usually doves, sparrows, robins, ospreys.”

Another gentle gust of wind flew through the park. Finch stretched and laid down on his backpack. They’d known each other ever since high school, but he never knew that this was one of Specs’ hobbies. “How often do you come here?”

“Whenever school’s not beating my ass,” replied Specs, eyes once again through the binoculars

“When is school _not_ beating our ass?”

Specs laughed. “Fair point.”

“Honestly, I wish I’d known that Mr. Albia would bury us in reading assignments straight out of winter break.”

“So do I. Davey and Katherine seem to be the only ones who’ve finished the book.”

“‘Course they are, they’re straight-A’s. Davey’s a genius and Kat’s the principal’s kid.”

“How is he? You were with him earlier,” Specs asked after he took a sip of his coffee.

“Sleep-deprived, but he managed to get Albert and Race to calm down and listen.”

“Doing the Lord’s work,” he joked.

Things were quiet for a while. Specs stared through the lenses while Finch’s eyes traced the lines of the canopy. The afternoon sun filtered through them, the sight reminding him of glass-stained windows at a church. He pulled out his phone a short while after and scrolled through his feed. He tuned out most of the sounds around him, but was snapped back to reality when he heard Specs curse.

“Hm?” Finch asked, not looking up from his phone.

“I can’t find the lark; it was just there and it flew away!” answered Specs.

“Don’t worry, it’s in a better place now.”

“Shut up.” Specs rolled his eyes, though his smile said otherwise.

Finch grinned. “When did you start bird watching?”

“Probably one, one and a half years ago? Maybe in March.”

“Damn, you’re really into this, huh?”

“It’s all the more coincidental because your name is Finch.”

Finch’s face lit up. “Hey, yeah! What are you lookin’ over there for? You got a bird right here!”

“I sit next to you in three classes, I think I’ve spotted enough Finches.”

Silence returned once more. Specs’ binoculars scanned the distant trees once more, only to jump when Finch’s face popped up right in front of them.

“Finch, you son of a-” Specs swatted his friend away with the lenses and Finch burst out laughing. He backed away and checked the time on his phone.

“Damn, forgot Elmer needed me for a project at 3:30,” he sighed.

Specs’ eyes widened. “It’s 3:30 already?!”

“3:23,” said Finch, showing him the big numbers on his lockscreen.

Specs allowed himself to breathe. “Oh, thank God. I got a study group at 3:30.”

“We’re all busy now, aren’t we?” Finch asked, putting on his jacket and his backpack.

“More than ever.”

“But hey, when hell week is done, the park’s all yours.”

Specs smiled. He folded his chair, shoved his binoculars in his bag, and the two went their separate ways. Until tomorrow, that was, when they’d be bugging each other in three different classes again.


End file.
